


the boy who's allergic to the sun

by marksjeno



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Jeno is sad too :(, M/M, Mark is lonely and a bit sad, Mark is not very good with people, Mark suffers from PMLE, Sad Ending, You can't really see a romantic relationship developing lol, mark has a phobia of the sun & he isnt good with people, please stop tagging valentina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-09 10:03:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12274164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marksjeno/pseuds/marksjeno
Summary: Mark hasn't stepped foot outside in years until someone knocks on his window at midnight.





	the boy who's allergic to the sun

Mark was a happy child.

He loved going to beach, and the park. 

He loved running around on the sand and grass, swimming in the water and spending time with his twin sister Yerim.

He loved feeling the hot sun on his skin, making him feel warm from the inside and out.

But he hated the itchy, uncomfortable, painful rash he got a few hours later when he got home after a long day of fun.

He hated when his skin would blister the next day. When he'd get a high fever that's borderline life-threatening, when he felt so sick he would throw up everywhere and faint a total of 3 times a day.

It happened so much and his mother and father soon took their concerns to their doctor in Vancouver, who found nothing wrong with Mark.

_ "I'm sure it's just heat exhaustion, just keep him hydrated whenever you take him outside. It is getting hotter these days."  _ He said.

They tried that. It didn't work.

So they went to New York to see a doctor that a close friend recommended, they didn't get anything but another recommendation to a doctor in Seoul, Dr. Jung.

When in Seoul, they finally got the answer to what they were looking for.

At the age of 7, Mark Lee was diagnosed with a severe case of Polymorphous Light Eruption (or as Yerim liked to call it, 'a sun allergy').

His case was so severe it was nothing like Dr. Jung had ever seen. The young boy had gotten sun poisoning more than any other patient with PMLE and his outbreaks were 10 times worse as well.

Dr. Jung suggested that the family moved to Seoul so he could monitor Mark's condition more closely.

And they did.

\---

At the age of 14, Mark had one of his worse cases of sun poisoning yet.

Summers in Korea are way hotter than summers in Vancouver, and Mark had to learn the hard way.

After a long day out in the sun with his friends, Mark returned home to his family. When he got home he felt a burning sensation rise from his feet, to his head.

The burning began to be  _ too much  _ after thirty minutes. 

The young teen felt as if he was being burnt alive and he  _ looked  _ like he just walked out of a burning building.

His skin was bright red and he had blisters forming all over his face.

Late at night, his family woke up to his screams of pain and ran into his room to find him rubbing at his skin desperately, curled up in a ball.

_ "Mama, it burns! Help me! Please."  _ He screamed over and over again.

His father and Yerim quickly prepared an ice-cold bath for him as his mother tried to sooth him and wipe the tears streaming down his face without hurting his delicate skin.

After that, Mark refused to go outside ever again.

\---

Now 17, turning 18 soon. Mark has no friends beside his twin and his cat, Hercules. He spends his days taking online lessons and copying Yerim's notes.

Ever since  _ the incident,  _ his phobia for the sun grew so his father hung up black curtains for him and bought him an extra bright lightbulb for his bedroom.

He's happy, a bit lonely, but happy. 

Atleast he doesn't have to face the sun every day.

\---

_ Bang. _

Mark slowly sat up in his bed at the noise and stilled when he heard it again.

_ Bang. _

He looked over at his alarm clock.

_ 1:42 am. What the fuck. _

He groaned in annoyance and walked over to his window, getting ready to curse out this annoying kids who come to his window once every few days to see  _ 'The Ghost in the Lee House'.  _ Sure, he's pale and no one has ever seen his face before but he sure as hell doesn't look like a damn ghost.

He opened his window, "I told you little bastards to stop coming to my damn house"

"Shut the fuck up will you?" A voice hissed back at him.

Mark let out a noise of surprise before looking down and seeing a boy around his age with light hair glaring up at him.

"Uh-" Mark stuttered, "Are you okay?" He asked, gesturing to the boys bloody and bruised face.

"Fuck no, I need help and I can't go home looking like I just got my ass whooped." The boy snapped back.

"Well... do you want to come up?" 

The boy shrugged his shoulders, "Sure." He said before climbing up to Mark's window.

The boy climbed through his window with little to no difficulty and Mark let out a quiet gasp when he got a look at the boys face.

Even though his face was covered in scrapes and bruises he was still undeniably handsome, his sliverish-grey hair complimented his skin tone. He was pale, but not as pale as Mark was. This was the first time someone so handsome had ever stepped foot in Mark's room and he regrets not cleaning it when his mother told him to.

"Uhm." Mark started out before kicking some of his dirty clothes under his bed. "I'm going to go get the first-aid kit... do you want anything else?"

The boy lied down on Mark's bed, "Just get me something to eat."

Mark was taken aback at the boys cocky and demanding attitude but left to get to things he need anyway.

When he returned to his room with the first-aid kit, a sandwich and a bottle of water the boys was fast asleep on Mark's bed with Hercules curled up on his stomach.

Mark smirked before setting down the food and drink and tending to the boy's wounds, carefully trying not to hurt him in his sleep because he looked so peaceful and his facial expression was the complete opposite of the one he saw a few minutes ago.

When he was finished he put a blanket over the boy and put the meal on his window ledge, with a note to the boy signed off with his name.

The next day he woke up to a sticky note on his forehead and a name to the mystery boy.

_ Jeno. _

\---

Jeno came to his room almost nightly and they followed the same routine. He'd fall asleep on Mark's bed and Mark would tend to his wounds while he was sleeping. And in the morning he'll be gone. Throughout the nights they began to get to know each other better. Jeno went to the same school as his sister and he was only a year younger than them both. Mark let Jeno do most of the talking, he isn't good with people.

One thing that concerns Mark is all the damn  _ wounds  _ on his face. He can sometimes tell it's a struggle for the boy to climb up to his window because he's in too much pain but Mark is too afraid to have him come through the front door because his parents might find out and kick Jeno out.

Sometimes Jeno cries in his sleep and Mark wants to help him feel better but he doesn't know how.

Mark hasn't spoken to anyone besides his parents and sister in  _ years  _ and when Jeno suddenly came into the picture he didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say and he didn't know how to react.

One night, Mark finally had the guts to voice his concerns.

"Jeno?"

Said boy hummed, happily munching on the sandwich the older made for him. 

"How come you're always hurt? I mean... whenever you come here you're bleeding in some sort of way. ... Is someone hurting you?" Mark asked, avoiding eye contact with the grey-haired boy.

Jeno on the other-hand was staring straight at the older, "Do you want to know?"

Mark turned his head before slowly nodding. 

Jeno sighed before starting, "There are these guys at my school and they're somewhat wealthy and well... I'm not. My mom works 4 fast food jobs and my dad is somewhere in Busan with some cheap whore he replaced my mother and I with. And those guys- those fucking bastards-" Jeno clenched his fists as angry tears started to well up in his eyes, "they use those as reasons to treat me like shit. Every night, every-fucking-night for some reason I sneak out of my house to meet those assholes at the park because I  _ want _ to fight them. I want to beat their asses so they'll finally  _ fucking stop  _ and leave me and my family alone and every time I lose and I walk away with blood and bruises and every time they rip something away from me-" 

By now, Jeno was a blubbering mess, tears were streaming down his face and his fists were clenched so hard that his nails were digging into his palms and drawing blood. And Mark was lost for words, he's never had anyone break down like this in front of him and he had no idea what he was supposed to do.

"What about you, huh?" Jeno suddenly asked, a hint of venom in his voice that surprised Mark.

"W-w-what about me?"

"Why don't you ever leave this fucking room? Why don't you ever go to school? Every day, I look for you in the halls and you're never there."

"Jeno, I-"

"I thought I finally had a friend. Someone who could protect me from those assholes but you're  _ never there. _ "

"Jeno, I'm sorry-"

"No, don't apologize." Jeno snapped while standing up and walking over to the window, "Don't fucking apologize and don't you  _ dare  _ pity me."

Both boys were crying by now, silent tears streaming down their faces as they both stared at each other.

"Mark."

"Yes, Jeno?"

"I'm going to leave."

"Are you gonna come back."

There was no reply.

He didn't come back.

\---

One month.

It has been exactly one month since Mark has last seen Jeno and every day his heart breaks a bit more.

\---

Mark didn't know what the fuck he was doing.

He didn't know why the hell he was walking around Seoul in a thin t-shirt, a pair of shorts and his purple fuzzy socks.

Oh but no, he does know what he's doing.

He's going to go see Jeno. He's going to march right up to Jeno and tell him that Jeno is the best thing that has happened to him and years and give him a big fat hug.

He didn't even stop to think about the consequences of going outside in broad daylight after being cooped up inside his house for over four years but he didn't give a fuck.

When he reached the school he immediately caught sight of Jeno, he frantically waved his arms to catch the boy's attention. When he did Jeno's eyes turned as wide as saucers and as he was walking towards him, he felt someone grab his wrist.

"What the f-"

"Mark? What the hell are you doing here?" Yerim's voice asked, panicked. "Shouldn't you be home? Oh my god, mom and dad are probably losing their shit."

She began tugging his arms to the direction of their house, "You dumbass!"

"Wait, Yerim. I have to talk to Jeno." 

"Jeno? Is that the guy that sneaks into your room every night?" 

Mark stilled, "You know about that?"

"We all do, Mark. You two aren't exactly quiet." Yerim snapped before pulling his arm again, "Let's go home before you get another damn outbreak."

"Mark?! What are you doing here?" Jeno asked, walking up to the siblings.

"Nothing, he's going home _ right now. _ " Yerim hissed.

Mark ignored her, "I wanted to see you. I missed you."

Jeno blushed at the elder's words, "I... missed you too."

Yerim scoffed, "Mark, we're going home right  _ fucking  _ now I can already see a rash forming on your arm."

Mark did notice the slight burning sensation on his arm and  _ oh fuck  _ isn't that going to hurt soon.

"I'll go with you." Jeno volunteered.

\---

When Mark got home he was already screaming in pain.

Blisters and rashes began to form all over his skin and Jeno was terrified because  _ how the fuck  _ did those get there.

"Oh my god this is almost how it was years ago." Yerim mumbled to herself as her parents began running around the house to get things that could soothe Mark's skin.

Said boy was currently rubbing at his skin, making the blisters and rash worse but the screams of e _ xcruciating  _ pain were what had shaken Jeno the most

Jeno tried to grab Mark's wrist but was pulled back by Mark's father.

"Stay  _ away  _ from my son. This wouldn't be happening if it weren't for you." The man coldly said before leading Mark to the bathroom where his ice-cold bath was waiting for him.

Those two sentences.

14 words.

They shattered Jeno's world.

\---

Later that night, Jeno climbed up to Mark's window and banged on it, hoping that the elder would open it for him.

He waited for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, a whole hour but he got nothing. Absolutely nothing.

If he only he hadn't guilt tripped Mark into leaving his haven; if only he  _ knew  _ about Mark's condition and tried to understand him; none of this would be happening. 

It was all his fault.

And to think.

He had fallen for a boy who was allergic to the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> this was kind of terrible??? im so sorry???  
> leave a comment :))) i love comments  
> follow me on twitter: @iovesamuei


End file.
